NEWS in General – October 5
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GGH News
New ultrasound machines providing better quality images
IPAC’s Champion of the month
Healthy Workplace Month (HWM)!
Supporting Truth and Reconciliation at GGH
Other News
GGH Pumpkin Carving Contest is back!
Furkids of GGH: Meet Blue!
GGH News
New ultrasound machines providing better quality images
Ultrasounds are a crucial part of modern medicine. Each year, the Hospital does more than 25,000 scans. The recommended lifespan of an ultrasound machine is seven years and until recently, more than half of our machines were over a decade old. Now, three new donor-funded ultrasound machines have arrived to replace three of our older ones. The new machines were put into immediate use, helping to provide even better patient care.
“These new ultrasound units will tremendously help our community. The image quality is a vast improvement and the newest technologies will help Ultrasound Technologists image more patients,” explained Jeannine Haid, Ultrasound Team Lead. “Radiologists will have better images to make more accurate diagnoses. Thank you to our donors…they are truly appreciated by the ultrasound department staff!”
IPAC’s Champion of the month
IPAC is wanting to recognize staff who go above and beyond to provide exceptional care in these extraordinary times.
Each month a member of the IPAC team will select an IPAC Champion. With their consent their picture and first name will be displayed on our Hand Hygiene Thermometers and they also receive a gift card.
This month IPAC has selected Chris, an RPN from DSU. Chris is a fabulous role model for hand hygiene and always striving to maintain best practices. Please help us congratulate Chris as the IPAC Champion for September!
Healthy Workplace Month (HWM)!
We are excited to announce that Healthy Workplace Month has officially started and there are now calendars up throughout the hospital at staff elevators, on the GGH TV’s, in the stairwells and even linked here. The calendar displays the events for the month. Have a look and see how you can take part – there are many ways, both individually and with your units/departments! Please also keep an eye on your GGH Inbox on Mondays to learn what will be going on for that specific week (see this past Monday’s for an example). Email HealthAndWellness@gghorg.ca if you would like additional HWM calendars for your lounge, staff rooms, etc.
Supporting Truth and Reconciliation at GGH
The week leading up to National Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30 brought many opportunities for staff to learn more and to support reconciliation. Across the hospital, there was listening, learning and sharing skills and working in ways that reflect the interest and needs of people who are indigenous and their families.
Thank you, Katrina Graham (pictured), GGH’s Indigenous Patient Navigator, for offering a smudge ceremony and circle in support of GGH patients, family and staff as we reflected on the legacy of the residential school systems.
You can learn more about the Indigenous Patient Navigator program by talking to your leader or contacting kgraham@gghorg.ca.
Employees sharing learning resources
Sharing our learning is so important in work related to patient care and building great relationships within the hospital. This past month, staff were asked to contribute titles and resources they have found helpful in their personal learning associated with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
San’yas Learning – a course about Indigenous cultural safety in health care
Some of the topics covered are:
- Colonization in Canada
- Racism, discrimination, and stereotyping, and their impacts on Indigenous peoples in health care contexts
- Social and structural determinants of health concerning Indigenous people
- Gaps in health equity for Indigenous people
- Taking action: Uprooting anti-Indigenous racism and enhancing Indigenous Cultural Safety
Anyone working in health care who needs to enhance their knowledge, awareness, and skills when working with Indigenous people. This course is baseline transformative education and meant to complement Nation- and region-specific training provided by Indigenous organizations and/or communities. Enrollment for this leading program remains open. Please send an email to joliver@gghorg.ca to coordinate your enrollment.
Using the LMS to support Truth and Reconciliation – A new employee’s perspective
Submitted by Tiffany Malzer, CQI Specialist, Strategy & Improvement
As a new employee to GGH, and as part of my orientation, I was introduced to the learning hub in the first few days on the job. Working in Continuous Improvement, I take a similar approach in my own learning and development – always try to learn something new. An all staff email was sent regarding the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and CCDI courses available as part of the learning management system (LMS). Following that link brought me to the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Foundations courses. These courses include a number of topics about EDI, including Indigenous Inclusion. With so many layers to this topic, the courses available provide a language to help us lean into the work together.
In the early days of a newly developed role, I’ve been given time to get to meeting people, the organization and culture. So with a spare moment I again went looking for those CCDI courses. When I logged on to the portal through the intranet, a pop-up told me about new courses available in the OCI Marketplace; a portal offering courses from other organizations. I selected a course on Aboriginal History and Political Governance offered by Ontario Health. Despite paying close attention in History class, I was humbled by my ignorance on the topic.
I urge you to check out all the many courses available to us – they’re free and you never know what you might learn! If we all learn something different, collaborating together we can serve our community a little bit better each and every day.
Other News
GGH Pumpkin Carving Contest is back!
We are excited to announce that Marek hospitality is game to support the GGH Pumpkin Carving Contest again and have set up a table in The Bistro from now until October 14 where you can sign up your department & the number of people participating in the carving. Pumpkins will be available for pick up at The Bistro on October 21, and the pumpkin display & contest will take place there on October 26 from 1030-1430. There are Bistro prizes to be won for first, second and third places so find your crew and get creative!
Furkids of GGH: Meet Blue!
Hey everyone at GGH! My name is Blue and my Mom wants to me to tell you that I am a “wee Scottish Fold” as a lot of people wonder if there is something wrong with my ears. There isn’t. They’re supposed to be this amazing. My mom’s name is Ashley and she works on 4 West in the Medicine Unit. She currently isn’t there, as she decided to give me a human sibling (which I think I am cool with?) and is now home with us for a while, including my kitty step broth, Tango. I love it! I also love that the baby has provided me with a spot I can hide from everyone – he has this mat thing on the floor where he lays and plays, but when he isn’t around, I crawl under it and no one, I mean no one, can see me. Well, I have noticed that there is a bit of a breeze on my tail as the mat doesn’t seem to cover it, so maybe my stealth skills need a bit of work…but whatever. When I am not appearing as a lump under the mat, I love removing glasses full of water off surfaces around the house that I deem unnecessary, as well as doing parkour off the furniture when the zoomies hit. But when those dissipate, I get my fill of pets and snuggles from my family – my most favourite thing of all!